1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to firearms and more specifically to a device for moving components of the firearm in a charging motion and in a forward assist motion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Firearms typically include a receiver that houses several working components of the firearm, including firing components, with a barrel extending from the receiver. There are various classes of firearms that operate in different manners. One class of firearm utilizes a bolt carrier disposed in the receiver that is moveable between a firing position, from which a live round of ammunition can be fired, and a rearward position, from which a spent casing is ejected. The movement of the bolt carrier and ejection of the casing can be accomplished with a direct gas impingement or indirect gas impingement system. Examples of gas impingement type firearms include the M16, the M4®, such as the M4® carbine, and the AR-15®, such as the AR-15® Platform.
Firearms having the direct gas impingement system typically include an ejection port defined by the receiver. Direct gas impingement systems route exhaust gases back through the firearm to move the bolt carrier toward the rearward position. In particular, after firing the firearm, the direct gas impingement system routes exhaust gases, including any associated debris, from the barrel, back through a return tube to the bolt carrier, and out the ejection port of the receiver.
Firearms having an indirect gas impingement system do not route the exhaust gases back to the bolt carrier in an effort to reduce fouling caused by the exhaust gases that may occur with direct gas impingement type firearms. Instead, the exhaust gases are used to move a device, such as a piston, that engages the bolt carrier to move the bolt carrier toward the rearward position.
Both the direct and indirect gas impingement systems require an initial manual movement of the bolt carrier from the firing position toward the rearward position to initially load a live round into the firearm. In order to accomplish this manual movement, a device known as a charging handle can be provided at the rear of the receiver near the buttstock. In such a configuration, a user must lower the firearm and manually grasp the charging handle and pull the charging handle toward the buttstock. The charging handle engages the bolt carrier directly to retract the bolt carrier.
During operation, the bolt carrier automatically moves between the firing and rearward positions to eject a spent casing and to load a live round. Debris can build up in the receiver and about the firing components such that during these operations the firearm can jam or fail with either the casing not being fully ejected or the round not being fully loaded into the firearm. In such situations, the charging handle can be utilized to fully eject the casing. Further, another manual device known as a forward assist can be utilized to complete the loading operation of the live round. The forward assist can be a separate device that is also mounted to the rear of the receiver near the buttstock. Again, in such a configuration, the user must lower the firearm and manually push on the forward assist in an attempt to move the bolt carrier to the firing position.
Although necessary, the lowering of the firearm during combat situations to perform these tasks is undesirable. Further, it is inefficient to have the charging handle and the forward assist be two separate mechanisms. As such, there remains a need to improve these components and their associated operation with a robust design that can be easily manufactured and assembled and can be used in a retrofitted design for existing firearms.